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Friday, December 18, 2009

BRUNNER STIRS THE POT

When U.S. Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner ventured to Washington D.C. Wednesday night for a fundraiser, she did quite a bit more than raise a few bucks in her attempt to keep her campaign viable in the face of her Democratic primary opponent Lee Fisher’s seasoned fundraising machine. She also talked to National Journal’s Hotline, which posted an extensive story yesterday on the roadblocks she’s encountered in her bid to be the Democratic candidate.

She claimed that in September, Senator Bob Menendez, chair of the national Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said he would actively work against any candidate perceived to be underfunded — thereby risking splitting Ohio Democrats and antagonizing many.

Brunner said she responded: "If you do that, the women of Ohio will never forgive you." Menendez, she said, retorted: "I know you're not scared of me, and I'm not scared of you."

Brunner also said that Congressman Zack Space (Oh-18) told her he had to endorse Fisher out of fear that Gov. Strickland might use his influence on the apportionment board to eliminate his district following Ohio’s expected loss of two districts after the 2010. Space’s office has denied that. In addition, Strickland’s support for Fisher has been muted, and there are too many variables involved in the upcoming redistricting to guess what role Strickland might play. Brunner also says that Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (Oh-11) told her that while she wasn’t going to endorse in the race, she believed Brunner would be the better candidate.

Meanwhile, the Plain Dealer’s Stephen Koff whined, “Jennifer Brunner came to Washington on Wednesday and uttered things that the Ohio media only wishes she'd said to them. But sorry, Buckeyes, Ohio's secretary of state saved her dish for National Journal's Hotline, which has about the same penetration in Ohio as, say, the Bakersfield Californian.”